


The H&M Collection

by daggerisms



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Alternate Universe - Doctor Who, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Kingdom Hearts, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Comedy, Ficlet Collection, M/M, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-12 14:38:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2113671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daggerisms/pseuds/daggerisms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles, ficlets, and oneshots containing those two lovable goofballs: Yunho and Changmin. Since each story is its separate universe, archive warnings will be posted before each chapter if anything changes dramatically. I don't feel like moderating a Collection, so this is where they will all go. For now, we'll leave this in the Not Rated category.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Back

**Author's Note:**

> [WARNING] mention of character death

Night used to always bring comfort to Yunho. Not just for the obvious reasons, but there was something about the peace, the utter stillness that only came when the sun fell behind the horizon and the stars came out in bright dots on the sky. Even before he was turned into a vampire, he appreciated the serenity and the silence. It was the time of day he had been sentenced to only see many years ago, and it had never bothered him.

Until Shim Changmin had sacrificed himself for the sake of his family and left the world a much different, changed place.

Now night had turned into an enemy, a reminder that he was alone and had to deal with the beasties that showed their ugly mugs after dark.

_What I wouldn’t give to have you back._

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he sat up on the bed of his truck, hoping it was a call to action. _“Hey, Yunho. Got the 410 on a m’fashnik demon terrorizing downtown. You should check it out.”_ Or even, _“Yunho, found a vamp’s nest. Come clean out.”_

He slid his thumb up the screen to answer the call. “Yeah.”

“Yunho! Oh, thank goodness—” The line cut out and then came back, still with static. He could barely make out Sooyeon’s voice, but he knew her tone. She was the sister who never seemed to stray far from being alarmed, whereas Jiyeon tended to be more level-headed. “…situation is…we didn’t…swore he…back okay…”

“I can’t hear you, Ji,” he said a little loudly into the phone. “What situation where? What’s going on?”

Again, there was static, but then one word—one name—made it out clear: “Changmin.”

His thought processes froze and he fell back against the tailgate, breathless.

What had they done?

Yunho could have ripped the truck’s door off its hinges. He cursed under his breath as the car turned over slowly, chugging obscenely. He didn’t care; he needed to move now. The wheels spun in the dirt and he careened through the woods, swerving onto the asphalt of the main road. As he tore down the freeway, Yunho could not help but hope. He hoped for a miracle, and yet he feared one had been granted to them. If Sooyeon had abused her powers and done a spell…

There was no denying he longed for the days that he could not call back again—the days where he would arrive at Changmin’s apartment just after sunset, truck idling in the driveway as Changmin came crashing out his front door, his leather jacket hiding his hunter’s guns tucked under his armpits. They had met back in Yunho’s “fuck the world, I’m a cold-blooded murderer” phase, when the high school-age human boy had cornered him and his gang after a late-night snack in the park.

What Changmin had failed to realize—and what many of the Shim family didn’t even know—was that those who were sired by a Master vampire could not be killed in the normal fashion of “stake, stake, dead.” Decapitation would kill anything, but Yunho was much too fast for that young hunter. Much of his clan lay dead around him, but he had seized the chance, flung himself onto Changmin, and prepared to slice his throat open. The finest son the Shims could throw at him, reduced to little more than a notch on his metaphorical killer’s bedpost.

_Fangs were out and a hand wrapped almost lovingly around Changmin’s throat when he heard the two of them, hushed voices that broke the silence of the night. They called to him, to their big brother, telling him dinner was ready and their mother was worried._

_Two girls, one not much older than the other, and they had been sent out to look for him. One even had a little bear in her hand, and she sounded on the verge of tears._

_Yunho’s eyes flickered to the right, where he had heard them, and Changmin began his struggle anew. He could not breathe, he could not move either, but he tried. “No,” he choked out, hands futilely reaching for Yunho. Panic and terror brightened his eyes, this teenager who would die defending his little sisters._

_As wicked as he was, he could not bring himself to hurt a child._

_Shock wrote across Changmin’s face as the vampire lifted off of him, still in a defensive position as he crouched low to the ground, eyes never leaving Changmin as he backed up into the shadows. The hunter raised a gun to him, but Yunho laid a finger to his lips, nodded his head to the annoying piece of plastic in Changmin’s hand, and then jerked his head sideways toward the bushes. Its meaning? Take a shot, and he may not leave them alone._

A small and unguaranteed truce, but Yunho never touched them—either of them. Not as they grew up, not as Changmin continued to threaten the vampire, despite never carrying through with his promise to kill. Not when their parents were killed by a monstrosity he helped bring down days later. Somehow, someway…he had become integrated into the hunter’s gang of misfits, as a source and a mole in the underground world. At first, Changmin was reluctant to put up with him, but his friends held a good point—Yunho was a wealth of information they could use. The vampire was even more reluctant to share his knowledge of how the creatures in the world ticked; that was considered a true betrayal in the circles he ran in.

Reluctance turned to a grudging respect. Respect blossomed into a weird friendship. And then Yunho broke the rules and fell in love.

Things had not been left on good terms. But Yunho had still called out to Changmin in the end, before he would go to his death, and promised to watch his sisters should anything happen. Yunho hadn’t known then that his old friend would sacrifice himself to keep his family out of hell for good.

He wished he would have admitted his feelings, before it was too late.

All the lights at the Shim residence flooded the front yard when he screeched to a halt in the driveway, knuckles white as they gripped the steering wheel. The white front porch had never looked less inviting. What was he about to face? Instincts warned him of something sinister and twisted in the house, and that cued his need to protect the girls, but his body would not leave the safety of the truck’s cab.

Knocking on his passenger window made him start. Jesse, the American with an obsession for devil and angel sigils, smirked at him through the dirty glass. He motioned for Yunho, and that made his decision. He silenced the engine and climbed out of the cab as Jesse met him at the stairs leading to the porch. “Gonna wait in there all night? We’ve been chilling outside for you, since Jiyeon texted us about meeting here.”

“We?” Yunho’s eyesight in the darkness was unmatched, but his mind lay elsewhere. It was why he had not spotted Mika’s leg dangling from a tree. The quiet half-faerie studied him openly before sliding to the ground, not making a sound. Though she stood a whole head shorter than him, he knew better than to associate size with ruthlessness. Her single nod was enough of a greeting for him. “Nice to see the gang’s assembled.”

“Tell me about it. It’s hard securing you these days, brother.” Jesse’s large hand thumped him on the back as he grinned. “I know you’re supporting the girls with him gone…” His eyes slid out of focus before he shook himself back to a happier place. “But still, it’d be nice to see you around more often. We’re all fighting the good fight, but damn at least say hi now and then!”

“Storm,” Mika said in a hushed voice, frowning up at Yunho.

Truly, he hated how empathic faeries could be, and even as a half-blood she held the abilities of her brethren. She could easily sense his emotions, and they would be as chaotic as a hurricane inside him right now. “It’ll pass,” he assured her before taking the lead up the steps, eyes fixing on the doorbell he had not pressed in some time. Again, something uneasy settled in him, and he hesitated.

_What’s on the other side of the door?_

His answer came almost instantly. The pad of his fingertip was still an inch away from the buzzer when the front door flew open, and Jiyeon stood there, panting. Always meticulous, it was odd to see her hair up in a haphazard bun, mascara smeared down her cheek. “We…” She could not finish her sentence. She only held the door open for them, inviting them in.

“Oh, come on.” Jesse shoved past, too eager to see what was going on. Mika stalked in behind him, glancing back at Yunho once. A strange calm came over him, and he found strength to walk inside a house he hadn’t seen in months.

Sooyeon stood by the fireplace, holding herself as she was wracked with dry sobs. Worried, Jesse headed over to her, asking what was wrong. Mika hovered in the entryway, her eyes riveted onto the landing of the stairway in front of them. So were Yunho’s.

Because as Jiyeon opened her mouth to explain, as Jesse looked over for some semblance of an answer, the reason for their gathering hesitated at the top of the stairs, his hand gripping the wooden balustrade so hard, it could snap.

“Changmin,” Mika whispered, her hand flying to her trembling mouth.

Jesse froze, arms outstretched to Sooyeon, who stifled her soft cries. Jiyeon stared at Yunho, who could not look away from the sight in front of him.

There was so much to take in as he walked down step by step, so cautiously. Jeans that had to be a size too large for his slender waist, since a belt accompanied them. A polo shirt probably years old, but still white. Sneakers that had seen better days. But his hair was the same—a warm, chocolate brown that laid flat against his head. His eyes were the same, as were his cheeks; he looked a little gaunter, but that was expected. He seemed more muscular, and yet still skinny. So skinny.

He hid his hands in his jean pockets, and Yunho knew why.

Fury rose in him so quickly, he struggled to stifle it and keep himself calm and steady. “Sooyeon,” he said, his voice so lethally quiet that both sisters jerked their heads up. Jiyeon began to move toward her sister, but Yunho’s gaze fell on her. “I need antiseptic and a clean cloth. Bandages, if you have them.”

“Wh-what?” When Yunho did not say so again, she disappeared into the kitchen.

Mika’s eyes narrowed, and she elbowed Jesse hard in the side. Ignoring his cry of protest, she grabbed his wrist and hauled him into the dining room, away from where Yunho stood. Sooyeon followed them not a second later, looking at Yunho in fear.

Calm. Steady. Do not lose your temper. Not with him, it’s not his fault. It’s theirs.

He held out his hands, and Changmin backed up against the wall, staring at the open palms being offered to him. “I don’t…” Any other time, Yunho would have basked in hearing that voice again—one deep and husky with memories attached. But now was not the time.

“Let me see.” It was not a request, but it was said kindly. Eyes closing, Changmin withdrew his hands from his pockets and laid them out on Yunho’s open hands.

Blood caked his fingers and knuckles. Deep wounds cut into his skin, and Yunho could see that some still oozed. There was a splinter in one finger that answered his unspoken question. A gasp from the doorway had them both looking over; Sooyeon and Jiyeon stood there, both affixed at the horrible sight of their brother’s hands. “Oh, my word,” Sooyeon quivered. Still speechless, Jiyeon held out the cleaning alcohol and a white washcloth. A bandage roll sat on one of her fingers. Yunho snatched it all up and strode toward the couch, Changmin following him closely behind. “But how…how did he…?”

As Changmin sunk onto the cushions of the sofa, Yunho squatted in front of him, silently asking for his hands. “Let me see,” he said again, and this time Changmin did not hesitate. He offered his left one first, and Yunho began to dab at the blood, wiping what he could away before applying more alcohol and then wrapping the fingers with bandages. His charge did not hiss or flinch once, but continued to stare down at the act, mouth turned down into a concentrated frown. Yunho moved onto the right one, cleaning quicker and wrapping faster, and still Changmin said nothing.

“Okay enough, tell me. You know something.” Sooyeon sounded disapproving. “What is it? How did his hands get like that? I have no idea how—”

“I do.” He had to fight to keep his voice calm as he glared daggers at the two of them, making them take an automatic step back. “You stand there, pride radiating off of you in waves,” he started, his voice beginning to shake. “You stand there, and you are as ignorant as you were when you began to practice the craft. You raised a man from the dead. Did you bother to stick around to see if he would return?”

“Yunho, I swear we did, but—”

“Do you want to know how he got these?” he asked fiercely, holding up one of Changmin’s wounded hands. “He clawed his way out of his own coffin. You weren’t there to help him.” Anger bubbled to the surface, and he could not hold it back any longer; it spilled over, and he rose to his feet. “Even a vampire sire knows better than to leave a newborn by themselves, or risk exposure of their kind. This is worse. You left him _alone_.”

“We didn’t know!” Jiyeon wailed as her older sister started to shake. “Yunho, there was a light and everything caught fire, and if we had stayed in that exact spot, we would have burned!”

“Did you not think _he_ would have burned, too?”

“But we weren’t by the coffin—!”

“Home.” Mika and Jesse had returned, both clutching cloths themselves. As Jesse walked over to Yunho with the towels, Mika fixed her steely gaze on Yunho. “They were here. I smell the incense used in the ritual. They completed it in the upstairs bedroom. The fire was magical; it burned itself out without causing damage.” Her eyes swiveled onto Sooyeon. “Ignorance.”

Yunho could not be in that house anymore. But leaving Changmin…

“Go,” Mika ordered, taking the first aid products from him. “Peace.” She knew he meditated, but he was not sure even that would help him here.

The front door slammed behind him, and he descended the steps, muttering obscenities. Before he climbed into his truck, he dug around in his duster’s many pockets for his lighter and his cigarettes. As he hit the bottom against his thigh, packing them, he heard a faint argument coming from inside. _How could they? How could they not be there when he…when he came back?_ Yunho could not think; there was only emotion, and he needed to rein it in before he caused any further damage.

He had a cigarette in and the lighter halfway to his mouth when the door open and shut again. He raised his eyebrows as Changmin jogged across the lawn. “What do you think you’re doing?” Changmin asked, clearly out of breath.

A sarcastic retort came out of Yunho before he could stop it. “If my cigarette wasn’t enough evidence, and neither was the lighter, then you’re beyond saving. Go back inside,” and he turned from the man he had never stopped loving, hating himself for his faked nonchalance.

“No, I…I can’t stay in there a second more. I had to get some fresh air.”

“So you decided to hang outside with the only smoker in the gang?”

“Well, that’s something that hasn’t changed,” Changmin huffed, crossing his arms and scowling. “I see you’re sardonic as ever. Might as well spit vinegar from all that bitterness coming out of you.”

Yunho grinned and crushed the lit cigarette in his palm, ignoring the brief instant of burning pain. “Sorry for losing it in there. When I saw your hands, I thought back to what I had to do years ago and the memories of it made me mental. Mind you, they used incredibly thick wood even back in the 17th century, so I can’t imagine what you had to endure. I don’t want to imagine it, actually. As long as you heal, all is good.”

“No promises,” Changmin shrugged.

“Understandable. I mean, what? You spent five months of earth time in some sick and twisted place, that’s got to have taken its toll. God, I’m so sorry, Changmin.”

Something flashed across Changmin’s face, but then his expression smoothed back into the blank one he had sported since Yunho walked in. “Never thought I’d see the day you were apologizing to me, instead of me to you.”

“You’ve done nothing.”

“I lied to you,” Changmin murmured softly, guilt laced in each word. “When I told you everything was okay, that I had come up with a solution to dealing with the crossroads demon…that was all a lie. I told you I wasn’t scared, and I was. I told you I would not give myself up, and I had.” He watched Yunho intently, that frown returning. “And despite it all, despite knowing that I had lied about it all…you sent money to my sisters and kept them going. I don’t know how to repay you…for everything.” He took a deep breath. “And there’s something else, too…”

It was too much, too soon. Not five minutes ago, Yunho had discovered the love of his life was alive again, and now they were being deep with each other? After hardly being this way the seven years they’d known each other? “Save it for later, Shim. Don’t rush into anything you don’t want to do all at once. This is your second chance at life. Take your time.”

_Just don’t leave me alone this time._

Changmin fumbled for words, and Yunho took the opportunity to unlock his truck. “Be seeing you, hunter. Welcome back to the fold,” he added, throwing his friend a smile, or as much of one as he could muster.

“Yunho, wait—”

Resolved snapped. Reason left him entirely. Changmin’s hand on his shoulder was warm, even through the heavy leather coat, and then he was turning into Changmin, fingertips finding those angular cheekbones he adored, his mouth searching until…

They kissed. For one glorious moment, the world stopped.

He tasted like mint, and he was alive, there was life beneath his fingers. Yunho wanted to feel every turn, every crevice of this man’s face, chest, and arms. He grabbed at Changmin’s collar and pulled him closer, tilting his head and parting his lips in a breathy sigh—he, a vampire, making a noise such as that. Changmin’s hands gripped his upper arms, and for a second Yunho feared he would be pushed away. But no, those hands curved around to hold his shoulders, and Changmin allowed his mouth to be explored and tasted thoroughly.

One of Yunho’s teeth nicked Changmin’s bottom lip, and a metallic taste flooded his mouth. Still Changmin did not push him away; Yunho had to draw back, the pull to the blood almost irresistible. “Why did you stop?”Changmin asked, touching the small cut on his lip.

“That is a road I will not take with you.” He had to sound stern. As much as he craved real human blood—not just the blood bags the hospital supplied to him unknowingly—he had to keep control; blood lust was not common, but once it consumed a vampire…“I didn’t mean for that kiss to happen. I lost control again.”

To his surprise, Changmin scowled. “You know, this is some shit I’ve experienced since coming back, and I’m already tired of it. Yes, okay! I died! Big deal! Don’t have to treat me like a porcelain doll! I’m still a hunter. I’m still me.”

“I know that,” Yunho replied softly, “and I know better than to be careful with you, as you are not with me. But that is a risk for blood lust, and I don’t want you to become my addiction. It’s bad enough as it is, I don’t need to be panting after you for this, too.”

Changmin cocked his head to the side. “You pant after me?”

“Shut up and listen to me for once.” Yunho squeezed his shoulders, shaking him just a little. “This is your second chance at a lot. Don’t waste it on me or on anyone you don’t want to. I want to keep hunting with you, and I will stay by your side until you order me away.” He hesitated before adding, “And if staying by your side means keeping my distance for a bit, I can do that.”

“Yunho, Yunho, just…just stop.” His brow furrowed and he hit Yunho’s hands away from him, only to take hold of Yunho’s wrists. “There’s so much you don’t know, and obviously there’s a lot I don’t know. I’m so confused, I’m disoriented, and I have half a mind to abandon everyone and leave the past behind.” His eyes found the vampire’s and Yunho could not look away; he was ensnared, and he wanted to remain that way. “But I do know one thing, and that’s the fact that you walked into that house, saw me, and immediately knew there was something wrong with my hands. You knew there was something wrong with _me_. I can’t ignore that.”

“Can’t even lie, but I still feel like there’s something I’m missing.”

“There is.” Whenever he wavered about admitting something, Changmin always sucked part of his cheek into his mouth—and there it was, the smallest action that Yunho noticed. “It’s about…where I was for the last five months.”

“You don’t have talk about it if you don’t want to,” Yunho said automatically. “Hell is awful. Believe me, I had to endure part of it for a hundred days and it was a right—”

“I was happy,” Changmin whispered, and tears squeezed out of the corner of his eyes. This night is just taking a turn for the worst. Yunho’s hand began to lift, to catch the drops before they cascaded down his cheeks, but Changmin turned his head away, though he still held onto Yunho. “Wherever I was, I was so happy. It’s like I finally found peace and completion.” He stammered, blinking back more tears that threatened to fall. “All my life, it never occurred to me to find out if…I mean, with different versions of Hell in the textbooks, there’s bound to be a flip side to it all, yeah? I just…never thought that Heaven actually…existed.”

_Heaven._ The word revolved around Yunho’s mind as everything slowly sunk in. _Changmin was in Heaven, and his friends—his_ family _—ripped him out of it._

_We brought him back to Hell._

“Say something,” Changmin pleaded.

Yunho could only stare at the ground, absorbing his words. “I don’t know what to say.” _What can I say? We’ve taken you from the only peace you’ve ever known._

“They can’t know. Not Mika, not Jesse. Certainly not the girls. Yunho, swear to me you won’t tell. Swear it.” Had he ever worn such a powerful, intense expression before?

“You have my word, on my family’s name of Jung, that I will not tell a soul about this.” On a whim, he brushed his lips across the bandaged knuckles, and delighted in the fact that Changmin did not pull away. “I truly am sorry, Shim. For everything, even for that which I am not responsible.”

“Just stop apologizing already,” and Changmin lurched forward again, his lips awkwardly devouring Yunho’s. The vampire allowed himself one satisfied smile before he wound his fingers through Changmin’s hair and let the hunter push him into the dented truck, their hands growing more adventurous as the seconds ticked past—uncaring that an audience could have been watching them from the curtain windows of the living room.

While they kissed, Yunho’s mind reeled away, trying to sort the information dumped onto him in less than half an hour. _Changmin’s back. He’s alive. His sisters completed a ritual that resurrected him from the dead. There may be consequences; with magic, there always is. Changmin was in Heaven and not Hell as we had thought. Got to figure that out. Changmin might have feelings for me. Definitely need to sort_ that _out._

A knee rubbed between his legs, and he groaned into a mouth that was as hungry as he.

_But all this can wait until tomorrow. No problem._


	2. Not a Prisoner, But a Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changmin wants to know why he is not allowed outside the castle grounds, or anywhere near the west wing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 2,703 | Originally posted on acciochun (my personal writing tumblr) and then cross-posted on Asianfanfics under the same pseudonym, chunlocked
> 
> NOTE: this does contain the three members of JYJ. If you do not like them as a band, that's fine; just don't use this as an opportunity to diss them...or anything. They're just side characters.

_"I ask that you remain within the boundaries of the castle walls while you remain here. You may walk the grounds and explore to your heart's content, but it is my desire that you not enter the west wing."_

That had been the only rule so far; he was allowed most everywhere and anywhere except for that particular area of the castle. "Super," Changmin muttered to himself as he climbed the steps to his own wing of the castle, lunch in hand and pout on face. "And I get no reason for it at all. ‘Stay away from there, Shim Changmin,’” he murmured in a voice mimicking Yunho’s deep and somber tone. “‘Don't breathe on the stairs. Don't even think about it, because I'll hunt you down and...’”

He heaved a sigh. He wasn't much of a rule breaker in the first place, but it irked him to have to be on good behavior for an unexplained reason.

"Changmin!" Junsu hurried down the stairs, coming to a graceful stop right in front of Changmin, his usually neat shirt out and wrinkled and his pants stained with something wet. "I have been searching everywhere for you, sir! The Master requests your presence at dinner this evening. He says it is partially in thanks to the first aid you rendered the previous night when you fled the castle and ran into the wild dogs in the forest, and partially because _—_ "

Tired and a bit annoyed at still being addressed so formally despite the time he had spent there, Changmin held up a hand. "Plain and simple speech. We talked about this."

"Erm. Right. My apologies." Junsu winced, but continued. "He really wants you to join him. He actually kind of demanded it." He cocked his head to the side, frowning. "He might have grabbed my shirt and pulled me in close and snarled it to me, actually."

"Why would he do that?"

"Don't know, sir. But he was insistent. I hate when he gets like that. I wish I could tell him to calm down, but that's rude and I'd probably lose my head for it."

Changmin's eyes popped wide. "Uh, come again?"

"Don't worry, he values our services too much. Err, he likes us too much," he quickly amended after hearing how formal he sounded once again. "We're pretty entertaining, you know."

"But I always go down to dinner. Of course I'll be there later." He had done so since the first night there, which had started wonderful and ended in a complete fiasco. The temper Yunho had been in afterward was something he never wanted to experience again.

"Yes yes, but especially tonight, you have to look extra nice, because _—_ "

"Junsu!" Both Jaejoong and Yoochun came running down from the second floor, though not quite the same way as the other man. Ever quiet, Yoochun nodded at Changmin before folding his hands behind his back and stepping aside so Jaejoong could exclaim, "It's ill manners to speak of the Master in  _that way_  in front of a guest!"

To Changmin's surprise, Junsu rolled his eyes. "We all know the enchantment is slowing wearing down, Jae. And the reason for it." In sync, they all turned their heads to stare at Changmin, who shifted uncomfortably under their gaze. "A bit useless to hide it."

"Yes, but even so..."

"So?" Junsu clapped a hand on Jaejoong's shoulder, grinning. "At this rate, we'll all be able to leave without anything bad happening to us or the Master once we get outside the gate!"

"JUNSU!" Yoochun reprimanded sharply, his voice deeper than Changmin had ever imagined it to be; they all went pale and shut their mouths, but Changmin's dropped slightly as he replayed details in his memory, silently hoping the servants were only joking.

How it had felt when he sprinted through the gate, as if something had been ripped away from him...

The suddenness the wild dogs had attacked him in the forest...

Yunho's desperation to get them both back onto the grounds...

"Hang on," Changmin said slowly, the pieces of the puzzle coming together as he spoke. "You mean that when I left, after Yunho basically yelled at me to get the hell out of the castle, I hurt him?" Why did that bother him? No, that was the wrong word to use. That _worried_ him. "The enchantment affected me, too?!"

Yoochun's hard glare at softened as he looked at Changmin, silent dismissing the now red-faced Junsu. "I have been held my tongue for too long. This should have been explained to you right from the start, but..."

"But what?" Changmin reached up, as if to grab him by the shoulders. One heavy look had him dropping his arms in an instant. "But what? Don't you go mute on me now!" he added in a stern voice.

"The Master forbade us," Jaejoong replied softly, stealing a glance over his shoulder at the stairs that led to the west wing. "He didn't know if you would hold a grudge against him for keeping you here as a prisoner, but once it became clear that, well, you were more of a guest, we thought it might be prudent to say something, just in case. We had no idea you would actually sneak into his room _—_ "

" _His_  room?" Changmin repeated in shock, recalling the torn curtains hanging from the barely stable bedposts, the ripped tapestries and paintings everywhere, the utter chaos of it all. That disaster area could not be anyone's actual bedroom, could it?

" _—_ and that he would go insane and verbally banish you from the castle!" Jaejoong took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Words normally don't mean a thing around here, for the most part. He yells at us all the time, but we know to not leave. Once he knew you were going to run, he tried to stop you, but you had already gone beyond the gate." A collective shudder went around the group. “We don’t want that to happen again, so you must know about all of this.”

Afraid of what the answer might be, Changmin asked, "What happened to him once I stepped foot in the forest?"

Neither Junsu nor Jaejoong could really respond. Yoochun waited a moment, before saying, "It would have been like a heart attack that could not kill, only make one suffer. Add the dogs to the mix and _—_ wait, no!" he shouted, too late; Changmin had already turned and dashed to the stairs, a horrified look on his face as he ran.

* * *

Yunho had barely set his mirror down onto the round table when Changmin burst through the door, gasping for breath. Before he could say anything, the young man blurted out, "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I'm sorry, tell you about what?" His dark eyes raked over Changmin's disheveled state, narrowing into a glare. "Do you have an utter lack of respect for the simple rules regarding attire that I have put in place for everyone?"

"Why didn't you tell me it would hurt you?"

"Ah." His mouth twitched. "It seems my servants are also in need of a reminder." His fingertips trailed the polished oak surface of the table as he fixed Changmin with a steady gaze. "You have been here for five months now. On the day we first laid out the agreement of your freedom in exchange for your mother's life, I told you what you could and could not do. You agreed. By leaving the castle you broke the agreement. What is stopping me from taking your mother away?"

"This could have all been avoided _—_ "

"If I had told you," Yunho finished for him, still eerily calm. He began to pace, his eyes still on the young man in front of him. "You were nothing but an irrational, uncooperative fool who dared to challenge me to a fight for his mother. I had no idea if you would walk out that door to spite me after making our agreement. You might have done that, taken your mother, and escaped. Forgive me for misjudging that you would take that rule and _—_ how do you modern folk phrase it? _—_ shove it where the sun won't shine."

Hiding a smirk at the formal tone mixed with the informal expression, Changmin said, "But they...I mean, the others...Jaejoong and Junsu and...they told me you started to regard me as a guest! Shouldn't you have said something then?"

"I should have. That is indeed a lapse on my part." Yunho sighed in frustration, though over what was lost on Changmin. "I am forever in your debt for the other night against the dogs. You could have left me to die but you chose to come back, and..." One hand came up to his bicep and gently squeezed. "Thank you for your aid."

Changmin could hardly believe his ears. "You're actually thanking me?"

"I am not always such a beast, Changmin." He grinned wryly, and somehow the deep scars set into his face were not as prominent. "When someone is deserving of praise, I'll gladly give it to them."

Something else bothered him, and he remembered once Yunho's hand fell back to his side. "The others, they mentioned that you feel pain if I leave the grounds. I can't be the first one you've tried to keep here to break the spell, right? There had to have been others."

The smile came out fully. "Why do you think I have such beautiful servants here, Changmin?"

"...Oh."

"You know my story, or at least the important parts: the beginning, who I was, and the middle, who I am now."

Changmin nodded, wondering where he was going with it.  _He was a prince, and his family had ruled for generations. An enchantress placed a curse upon him and the castle because of his pride and narcissism and disregard for his people._  "Your mother and father left you here alone because of the spell."

"They left me to protect the servants and themselves, and in retrospect, I don't blame them. Hearing that I would become something primal and full of rage, and all here would be affected _—_ of course they left me alone. They did not leave without giving me what I needed to survive for a time." Yunho glanced out the large bay window at the far end of his room, a far-off expression on his regal face. "I got lonely. Is that so wrong? I wanted companions, but I wanted the spell to be broken. I needed to find true love. They originally wanted to rebel, but they all wanted a friend, too. They still tell me I did them a great boon by allowing them to stay here."

"Is that what's in store for me?" He clenched his fists. "I'll just become a servant for you and stay this way for eternity?"

"If the spell does not break, then yes." Yunho's eyes became sad. "It's all right. I've lost hope over the years. I've too many flaws and scars for anyone to look upon me with anything but revulsion."

_I'm not revolted._  A change of subject was needed, before things became too intense. His eyes returned to the scars along Yunho’s face and throat and he asked, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but..." He nodded at them. "Not everyone who came across this place stayed once they agreed, did they?"

Looking taken aback, Yunho reached up to touch the skin at his throat. He chuckled. "You have sharp eyesight. No. Not all of them stayed. When someone leaves, no matter the circumstances, a scar is left behind as a reminder."

"Of what?"

"That I will eventually lose my humanity and become so disfigured, no one in their right mind could look upon me with love in their eyes." He lightly brushed his fingers across a great scar that ran from his ear to his shoulder. "All part of the curse I brought upon myself."

Changmin wanted to touch those scars and see if they felt any different from the rest of his skin _—_ which he had never felt either. Shaking his head, he frowned. "So what I did left a scar?"

A long silence followed his question. "No. It did not."

"Why...is that...do you think?" Why was he so nervous all of a sudden?

"Because you came back," Yunho said simply. Then it all came out in a rush. "You tended to me and cleaned my wounds from the fight with the wild dogs, and I..." He struggled for words, hesitating. "I found myself hoping again. The servants, as much as I would love to cheerfully beat them to death for divulging all of this to you, are right. You stopped being a prisoner a long time ago, Changmin."

"Mmm." Mouth dry, he could only nod and shrug before turning away to leave and go back to his room, wondering if he would be able to sleep tonight without thinking about what ifs and possibilities and _—_

Yunho's hand wrapped around his wrist, stopping him halfway. "I am not asking anything of you but friendship and trust," he whispered. "But please, do not leave again. With you, I..." He paused, and Changmin shut his eyes, willing the emotions rising in him to just stay down. "The pain was greater than the others. Death would be merciful compared to experiencing that pain again."

"I'm not going to leave." He tried to be subtle as he closed his hand around Yunho's and gently pried him off. "You have my word."

"You will stay?"

"Yes."

"You will not try to leave the castle grounds again?"

"It caused you pain, so I’d be out of my mind to do it again." Flippancy was always his mask for real anxiety.

"...and you will come to dinner tonight?"

He almost wished that mean, rude, and insufferable Prince Yunho would make an appearance again, because he did not want to turn around and face this Yunho, who pleaded with him about so many things using his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah.

"Changmin. Thank you." The hand came back and squeezed his fingers, and Changmin knew that things had changed and would be dramatically different. He was a guest, not a prisoner. Yunho had hope again. The enchantment was wearing down, they had said, and there was a reason behind Yunho's better mood.

Put everything together, and...

Suddenly Changmin turned back around and grabbed Yunho by the shoulders, catching them both off-guard. "True love breaks the spell. That's what you said. Right?"

"I know where you are going with this."

"Do you?"

"You won't hear me say the words unless I am certain that what I feel for you is love." As gently as Changmin had pushed him away earlier, Yunho imitated the gesture, pulling back with a sorrowful smile. "That is also not enough. The one I love must love me in return. The enchantress made that very clear. Otherwise, I would have been free such a long time ago."

"No pressure," Changmin muttered before he could stop himself.

Yunho cupped his chin and tipped his head up, that wry grin back. "None meant at all. Yoochun will see that you clean up and be informed of all I purposely but foolishly neglected to mention at the start. Do not be late for dinner. Tardiness is as rude as failing to attend at all." He dropped his hand and walked back to the table with the mirror and the rose in the bell jar.

_The rose..._

Changmin stared at the glowing flower suspended inside the glass, and then he spoke quietly. "There's a time limit, isn't there? You’re forever young, only it’s not really ‘forever.’”

One petal broke off and floated slowly to the surface of the table, coming to a rest. "No, not forever," Yunho agreed. "A long time, yes, but..." His eyes never left his wilting lifeline. "The enchantress showed some mercy."

The answer was bad. He could feel it. He knew, and still he asked. "Okay, say all the flower petals fall. Then what?"

It took a minute, but Yunho's eyes met his again, a great sadness storming in their depths. "I will die, and all who knew me shall only remember me as a hideous monster." He laughed, an empty sound. "Don't look so surprised. It is my inevitable fate, one which I have long ago accepted. Who could ever learn to love someone like me?" He bowed his head and Changmin knew he was dismissed.


	3. Come Along, Shim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changmin is taken along for the time of his life with a strange, eccentric man who calls himself the Doctor...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 4,345 [ _Doctor Who_ AU]

_“Hi, what’s your name?”_

_“My name?”_

_“I’m Changmin~ so what’s your name?”_

_“Well, you see…I don’t have a name.”_

_“Ehhhh? What’s that mean?”_

_“Must be off, must be off. Rather late, you see. Don't worry, we'll meet again in another time. Goodbye, then!”_

Changmin shook himself out of his reverie, the gulls above his heading cawing out as they searched for an easy meal. What a strange thing to remember...

“Dude, you okay?” one of the guys on the yacht said, slightly swaying with the motion of the boat.

He nodded, trying to feign a smile. “Yeah, just spacing out, I guess.”

“Have another one!” the guy roared, tossing him another bottle of imported beer from the big cooler on the deck.

Not wanting to completely blow him off, Changmin kept it and thanked him. As soon as his friend turned away, he looked back out at the calm blue water, his mind in overdrive. He hadn’t thought about the strange man from his childhood days since…well, his childhood days. Why had the memory come back now, of all times? It meant nothing. He had just been a quirky stranger that had sat on the beach in such strange clothes…

He’d been a handsome man, but of course Changmin’s five year old brain had not let the thought penetrate his mind. All he remembered was that the man had said he had no name and he was late for something.

_Forget about it, Min. Have some fun for once. Done with the single class you had for the summer, and this is the "letting off steam" trip the boys talked you into. Relax._

It was a warm August afternoon, and the guys in his fraternity were celebrating the last few weeks of summer before they were due back on campus in the fall. Changmin’s father had happily allowed them all access to his private yacht, the  _Seabolt_.

The sun combined with the alcohol had Changmin stopping on his second beer, afraid he would get too dehydrated. The others, however…

“Hey buddy!” Kyuhyun and Minho stumbled over to him, both clutching the infamous red solo cups of party time. Kyuhyun shoved his shoulder. “Tell your dad that it was so wicked of him to lend us his boat! We were just saying that we should all go for a dip soon!”

Changmin looked them up and down. “Um, wouldn’t it be better if we all went for some nice water in the cabin below? How about a nap and then we take a dive?” he hastily amended when their smiles disappeared. “That way we can swim for a while and not have to worry about drowning from lack of water in our systems?”

Minho laughed loudly and thumped him on the back. “That’s why you’re top of the class, Min! Always thinking and shit!” They cackled the entire way down into the cabin. On the way down, Changmin stopped outside the door, watching three of the guys trying to open up some long unidentifiable box that had ended up on the stern deck. They didn’t seem to be having any sort of luck moving it, so he shrugged and moved down the stairs.

“Heads up!” Kyuhyun tossed a towel at his friend. “Go get your widdle swim trunks on and meet us topside in thirty minutes, Minnie~”

“Shut up.”

“Awww, did I rub a raw nerve there, Minnie-Winnie?” He exchanged a guffaw with Minho before heading into the large galley for some water.

Knowing they would take long, Changmin chose to sit in the little nook that offered a pressure-resistant view of the ocean. Since the galley sat below deck, he had a pretty view of the water just below the surface. He laughed in surprise when a pod of dolphins swam by, one lingering to stop and stare at Changmin through the window.

“Friendly creatures, aren’t they?” someone beside him said in a cheerful voice.

“Yeah, they’re fun to…swim…” It hit him belatedly that he didn’t recognize the voice. Frowning, he turned his head and came face-to-face with the one haunting his daydreams. Small face. Narrow cheekbones. A pointed chin. Golden brown hair falling over one eye. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened. Not realizing how rude it was of him, he lifted a finger and jabbed it towards him. “You!”

“Hello!” The stranger held out a hand, shaking Changmin’s finger. “Don’t believe we’ve ever met, which is fine but not greeting you while we are within close proximity and we make eye contact, well that is just a discourtesy.” He continued to smile brightly as Changmin gave him a not-so-subtle onceover.

The man was not as tall as he remembered, but then again fifteen years had passed since then. He noticed that he wore nearly the exact same outfit as before: a grey and silver checkered waistcoat that fit snugly on his lean chest. A white dress shirt lay beneath it, with onyx cuff links at his wrists. Over his arm was no doubt a black evening coat. Complete with slacks that clung to his legs and shined shoes, he looked more ready to have dinner with the Queen of England than go boating with a bunch of drunk college boys.

_How did he get on here?! He’s not in the fraternity!_

“I could call the coast guard right now,” Changmin said in a low voice. “My father is well-known, and they’d arrest you on the spot.”

This didn’t seem to faze the man one bit. He perched himself on the edge of the table, arms folded and eyes staring down at Changmin with amusement. “I don’t think they’ll make it here in time. I hadn’t been trying to land on your boat, you see. I could have sworn I set the coordinates to…”

_Landed on the boat? What?!_

“…and then water seeped in through the cr…”

_Who is this kook?! If I could just slip into the main cabin…all our bags are there…and so is my phone…_

“…but then it made that weird buzzing sound and I had to make an emergency landing!” The man sighed, still smiling, as if his story was a fond thing to discuss. “Well, I’m here now. But only for a bit. Letting the TARDIS dry off since I’ve no intentions to go anywhere with a wet control panel…heaters should be on right now and—”

“Who are you?” Changmin interrupted, ready to bolt to his room if he had to.

“That’s the thing. Up to you what you call me. But I am, well…you know, the Doctor.”

“Yunho the doctor? So Dr. Yunho.”

“No! The Doctor!”

“But you just said you were Yunho the Doc—”

“I MEAN YOU…KNOW…THE DOCTOR.” He slapped a hand to his forehead. “The Doctor, just the Doctor! That is what you may call me.”

Changmin’s head felt ready to explode. “The Doctor?”

“Yes, just the Doctor.”

“...okay.”

The man smiled. “Call me whatever you want, this 'Yunho' if you must, but settle on something. Now then!” Without warning, he lifted Changmin to his feet, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulders. “You seem like a sturdy kind of guy. Exactly what I was looking for in a companion. Tall, tanned, as handsome as I am…” He grinned. “Grab your things and let’s be on our way.” He twirled around and headed up the stairs, humming.

Changmin stared after him, his brain blank but his feet moving forward. How or why, he did not know, but for some reason, instinct compelled him to follow the strange man. _My parents are going to kill me._

* * *

"RUN!"

"YOU KEEP TELLING ME THAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING?!"

"NOT RUNNING FAST ENOUGH, OBVIOUSLY!"

Changmin skidded to a halt and slammed his back into the brick wall, yanking the Doctor with him at the last possible second. As they hid in shadow, the armed guards with two pairs of arms each rushed past them, shouting commands down the line so that the others would know which way to turn once they caught up.

"That was a delightfully close call," the Doctor chirped, wiping sweat off his brow. "And coming from me, who has had many close calls...well...it's saying something. Now then! Why don't you and I—"

" _You_!" Changmin grabbed the man's collar and hoisted him a few inches into the air, trembling with anger. "I  _told_ you that coming here was a bad idea! I  _told_ you we should skip the ball and just spend a night on the town! But  _no_ , you said it'd be okay, that we would fit in _so naturally_ , no one would notice! I  _told_ you, and you didn't  _listen_ , and you  _never_ listen, you insist you know better than I do, all because you've been around the universe for ages, and while that may be the case, sometimes you really should just...just...LISTEN to me!"

"Calm down, Changmin," the Doctor choked, flailing. "And let me down, so I can get us out of this mess!"

He relaxed his grip, allowing him to slide back down onto the pavement. "I knew we should have just stayed with the Caraway twins. They were charming company," Changmin murmured under his breath, glaring out at the alley as the Doctor fumbled around in his coat pockets.

"AHA! My handy-dandy..." He whipped out a funny-looking contraption, much more like a cross between a fountain pen, a wand, and a lightsaber than its actual sonic namesake. "...sonic screwdriver! Oh, how I've been dying to say that!"

"You use the phrase 'handy-dandy' for nearly everything, Doctor."

Ignoring the jibe, the Doctor made another noise of triumph and started to examine everything within five feet of them, checking the screwdriver now and then for results. "Readings are all good. I do forget that this does not scan wood, which is a bit of a letdown, but I think I've made good of things so far this trip! Luckily, the police force of unnamed men are as blind as they are stupid, which is a good thing for us, seeing as how silly of a hiding spot this is to begin with, so once I figure out where exactly we are, we can be on our way, hopefully all in one piece!" He said all this so cheerfully, one could hardly doubt him.

Meanwhile, Changmin fumed a couple feet away, wondering whether it was worth the risk and injury to find his own way back to the TARDIS. The armed guards had followed them from the palace to the waterfront, and the TARDIS was definitely parked somewhere close to the river. If he left now, he might make it, but he might not.

He threw the plan out immediately, of course—for though he was an eccentric character, the Doctor always pulled them out of deadly situations. It was not always an easy feat, but Changmin trusted him completely.

And, if he was correct in thinking so, that trust had budded into something else, too.

But he didn't want to bother the Doctor with his feelings. He had too much to worry about. The Silence, rogue weeping angels, flying the TARDIS and not crashing it, staying so young and fresh, what he would eat for dinner, not getting them killed every five seconds—

"You're thinking rather loudly today, aren't you?" the Doctor scoffed, still staring at the screwdriver.

"What?" Changmin asked, startled.

"Loudest thinker of my companions yet. You've definitely earned that title. Loudest Thinker. Perhaps there's even an award for it."

"I'm not thinking."

"But you're doing something."

"I'm not doing anything!"

"That's preposterous. You're doing nothing. If you are doing nothing, you're doing something, so therefore you are doing something, and I'm certain what you are doing is thinking, and you are thinking about what I said three days ago, while on Nebular Circle 9 with all the adorable Viixan people surrounding us and wondering what to do with us and if we were edible at all, and what I said three days ago was that I do not get involved in romantic entanglements with my companions because it is, for lack of a better phrase, a rather bad idea!"

How he could say that all in one go and not take a single second breath was beyond Changmin. Then all the words registered with him and he flushed. "I'm not—that is—what you said—has nothing—that wasn't even—"

The Doctor's eyes softened and he wore a sad smile. "I am sorry, Shim Changmin. I am so, so sorry. This is so very not modest of me, but I am clever. And I pick up on things very quickly. I cannot give you what you want. I have ruined too many lives." He reached out and squeezed Changmin's shoulder. "But I can give you my loyalty and my friendship. You are a good man. You will make someone very happy one day."

Loud, booted footsteps echoed in the alley again. "WE'VE GOT THEM MEN! I SMELL THAT DAMN COLOGNE!"

Both Changmin and the Doctor stared at Changmin's shirt, which the Doctor had sprayed with something strong that morning in the hopes that people at the  _fabulous ball_  they had invited themselves to would smell him and believe him to be a socialite of great status.

Unfortunately, that had not been the case.

Rolling his eyes, the Doctor grabbed a fistful of the guilty shirt and dragged Changmin back onto the streets, still certain that they would be fine, they would be absolutely fine, nothing was going to happen to them, absolutely nothing would happen to them.

"Absolutely nothi—"

"YES, I GOT THAT, NOW LET'S MOVE."

* * *

"Changmin! Changmin, wake up! Why are you on the top bunk? Why not just sleep on the bottom? Do you have a fear of being too close to the ground? I'm certain I could fix that up right away. Oh, Shim, do wake up!"

Groggy and about to punch whoever dared disturb his sleep, Changmin lifted his head, mumbling. "Wuzzit...?"

"I promised you a fun day after that death-defying stunt we pulled in the 13th century—I mean, who would have thought that Mr. Khan was capable of such feats, bravo to that man in my opinion—but today will be a very non-descriptive, non-time travel sort of day that we could still make the best out of, and I—okay, well that's not entirely true, I did do a little time-travel, but nothing so spectacular far from your century, we've actually just gone back a few months and a few countries down the way from your own, but get up, get up!"

Still unsure if he would kill the Doctor or not, Changmin rose to a sitting position, rubbing his eyes sleepily and yawning. "But it's like...the crack of dawn..." He managed to open his eyes wide enough to peek out the window by his bed that he had begged the Doctor for a while ago. "Sweet baby dill pickles on a sandwich, it is the crack of dawn." He turned his murderous glare to his time-traveling companion, who stood there beaming obliviously. "Would you like me to kill you now or later? I'm sure I can pencil it in between a long four hour nap and a trip to Crazyville."

"Don't be ridiculous, there's no such thing as Crazyville." The Doctor reached for his hand and hauled him up, shoving him towards the closet. "Pick something meant for summer days, please. Can't have you traipsing about in pajamas, now. Go, go! Hurry! Oh, don't give me that look, and get dressed! We have a good day ahead of us!" He smiled and dashed out of the room, humming to himself.

* * *

"...Doctor."

"Yes?"

"I'm Korean. I don't...celebrate this holiday."

"No, I should hope not, unless your citizenship has been a complete lie, in which case you have explaining to do to many bodies and the government."

"So why did you bring me to America...on this particular day?"

"Isn't that obvious?" The Doctor stared patiently at him, as if the answer was truly obvious, indeed. When his human companion merely gaped, he sighed and took him by the arm, steering him towards the big crowds of people that had already gathered by the lakeside, barbecuing and throwing Frisbees around. "What do these delightful people do later on in the evening, Changmin?"

"...oh!" Changmin smacked his hand against his forehead. "I was...the other day...when those lizard people—"

"You're tactless beyond imagination, how in the name of all matter have you survived like this?"

"—were having a celebration for their new king...and I complained to you...you actually remember me complaining?" He had trouble hiding his incredulity. "I mean, that's really nice of you, Doctor, but there's nowhere we have to be? No one we have to save?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Not today. I promised you a fun day, and I am ready to deliver it. Now let's go be Americans for a day!" he yelled loudly, enough for people to look around at him in amusement; his English accent paired with his Asian looks did make him that much more of a spectacle. Changmin covered his eyes and groaned. Only the Doctor could make a normal Independence Day celebration even whackier.

No, he took that back. The Doctor wasn't the only one, but he was certainly the whackiest.

"Come along, Shim! Come along!"

* * *

They played booth games. They ate sinfully delicious barbecue and snacks all day long. They helped a fisherman land his catch. They tossed a Frisbee back and forth like the other families until it flew far into the lake and Changmin stood mortified while the Doctor waded in to get it (fully clothed, holding his sonic screwdriver out to keep it from being wet). They reminisced about some of the more fun adventures they had been on, and the Doctor told him more about the companions that had come before Changmin. They rode a few of the corny, about-to-fly-off-the-hinges rides set up on the boardwalk and came off dizzy and stumbling.

True to the Doctor's word, it was...fun.

And if Changmin didn't know any better, he'd say it was a date.

"Fireworks! Come on, come on!" Surprisingly enough, he was the one dragging the Doctor down to the edge of the lake, giddy with excitement. He kept hold of the time traveler's hand as they waited for the explosions in the sky to start. "God, this has been just...an extraordinary day! And yeah, that's saying something, considering the places I've been to with you! Really though..."

The Doctor stared down at their joined hands with confusion as Changmin went on and on about their day. He flexed his fingers, noting how oddly fitting it was to have Changmin's hand clasped around his own. They molded together almost perfectly. He studied the callouses on the palms of his companion's hand, wondering how they had gotten there. Through hard labor somewhere, or had they come from the places he had taken his Changmin to see?

"My Changmin," he mouthed, a bit puzzled by the thought.

The Doctor had always been amused by the way humans exchanged affections for each other—hugs, kisses, hand holding, the smiles and looks between them. Along the way, he'd picked up their customs and done them when he felt like he should, or when he was in high emotions, but this was different. He had hugged his companions before, but this hand-holding business was very new to him.

Suddenly, Changmin's fingers tightened around his, and he heard his companion gasp loudly. "Yes!"

A blue and green pinwheel hit the sky, crackling above their heads. More followed, pinwheels and bursts of different colors exploding everywhere. Patterns were created, and some even resembled familiar shapes, like hearts and stars. For fifteen minutes it went on, the occasional big boomer making them jump in surprise.

People all around them laughed and shouted for more, even when they knew the finale drew near. Kids screamed their delight, pulling on their parents every time a particular loud explosion occurred.

But what drew Changmin's attention near the end was the sudden intense pressure on his wrist. "What? Do you want to go already? But these fireworks are..." He trailed off, his mouth going dry.

The Doctor was pulling him closer, and his eyes were filled with the most sincere tenderness he had ever seen.

"...cool," Changmin breathed right before their lips met.

* * *

They made it back to the TARDIS after midnight, silent but with their fingers still entwined. A few stragglers stumbled behind them for their cars, but no one really paid much attention to the pair. Things felt unusual, though. Changmin was often quiet, but the Doctor was rarely so, always having something to say about everything. He kept his head bowed, eyes trained on the ground, flicking up to Changmin's and exchanging a tiny grin before looking back down.

None of it bothered Changmin in the slightest. He was still flying with happiness.

His room and the bunk beds came into view much too soon. Reluctantly, he let go of the Doctor's hand and stretched, yawning. "Well, you were right. Today was definitely fun-filled, and I enjoyed myself." He grinned, but the Doctor didn't meet his eyes, staring at a point somewhere over his shoulder. "You really need to consider getting me a king-sized bed. I like to spread out. This bunk bed business is...well...not to say I don't like them..."

"Changmin," the Doctor interrupted. Changmin stared. "Are you...happy here?"

He laughed warily. "Where's this coming from?"

"Answer me."

"I...yeah. Yeah, I'm really happy here with you." It was the honest truth.

"With me," the Doctor echoed, sounding dazed. He fell silent for a moment, and Changmin couldn't think of anything to say. Finally, he nodded and turned to leave his companion, but stopped at the last minute, his hand on the doorway. "I am...also happy with you here." His shoulders stiffened, and when he spoke again, he sounded like a confession was being ripped out of him. "It makes me very happy to be able to give you what you wanted."

"Good. Means we aren't going to fight much," Changmin chuckled.

"Yes. Good night, Shim," the Doctor whispered, still not facing him. He shut the door behind him quietly.

Changmin fell to the bed, the dopiest grin on his face. "Good night. Good day. Good kisser. All's good."

* * *

"Changmin! Changmin, you lazy bum, wake up!"

_I swear...if he's waking me up at dawn again, I'm going to kill him...despite last night..._

"I think the sun finally got to him. Should we call for someone?"

"I don't know! They'll think we've killed him!"

"Maybe we did!"

"Oh, shut up, both of you are morons. Look, his eyelids are fluttering. Hey. Shim Changmin. Wake up or I'm going to pour ice water on you."

_...what?_

Groggy and filled with dread, Changmin opened his eyes, though in reality he wanted to keep them closed and go back to sleep and not wake up every again, because he knew those voices. He knew them well.

And he had not heard them for a year.

Minho and Kyuhyun hovered over him, both looking down at him with concern. More of his friends stood in the background, anxious and pale. "It's about damn time," Kyuhyun chided him, crossing his arms. "We found you passed out on the deck a few hours ago, and Minho swears you were below, taking a nap."

"I was..." A strange sort of buzzing started in his head. "But I was..."

"Anyway, dude you totally missed it!" Minho punched him in the arm playfully. "We were snorkeling for a while, dude! You should have seen all the fish we saw!"

"Doctor."

"What?"

Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow. "He said the word doctor. You want someone to take a look at you?"

"No, I...where's...?" But he knew. Somehow he knew.

_He didn't say goodbye._

"Minho, go get him some water, and I'll call the mainland and have them ready with something for his head. Look at the way he's holding it and shaking it. The sun did get to you, didn't it, buddy? And the rest of you clowns, get back topside, and make sure our slightly drunk captain does not ram us into anything..." Changmin heard their footsteps recede, but the buzzing in his mind did not stop.

_He didn't said goodbye. He knew what he was going to do, so he...spent the day doing something he thought I wanted. He thought I wanted a date with him, and he gave it to me. Just like he said._

_But I just wanted him._

"You bastard," he said in a loud, clear voice, "I wanted you. You stupid, stupid fool, I just wanted you." His voice wavered and broke, and he blinked back his tears of frustration. "You tricked me...YOU TRICKED—"

"Oh, really now, Shim, I leave you here for all of five minutes and you're angry at me. I've nearly gotten you killed a thousand times over, and the only time you're angry with me is because I dropped you off here for a bit while I went and did something important that I couldn't involve you in because you would have certainly been bored out of your mind."

Between blinks, he stood there, dressed in yet another suit (this one a blinding white) splashed with some sort of scarlet liquid. When he saw Changmin staring at him, he thought he was staring at the stain and frowned, picking at it. "Yes, I know, and I just got this suit, too! But try telling that to Her Majesty when the entire population is upset and wanting her blood. No, she insisted we have tea, even though Paris was about to burn. She simply had to know where I had it tailored, since it went out of fashion in the late 2040s. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that people of the future let perfectly good things go to waste and create such barbaric things to replace them. Can you believe that?"

Changmin could not speak, only gape at him.

"Close your mouth, you look like a fish out of water. Now get up and get dressed in your best, Changmin, we're dilly-dallying and there is a revolution under way and we have things to see and do. The future awaits, and it is an angry mob armed with guns and lethal electric jellyfish. If we are to face our deaths, we will do so looking pristine." He turned on his heel and strode out the door, huffing. He accidentally blew past Minho, who stared after him in amazement.

Instead of throwing himself at him, instead of flinging his arms around his neck and kissing him until he couldn't breathe, instead of rolling over and continuing to be angry, instead of explaining to his friend how this strange man came to be on their boat, Changmin could only yell: "My best suit's still in your closet!"

He heard him shout down the galley, "Why don't you ever think these things through? Blast! We'll just have to make a pit stop and apologize to the barricade once we get there. Oh, hurry up already, Shim!"


	4. A Promise Kept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yunho has been given the power of the Keyblade and the duty to save the worlds, but is it worth the cost of his best friend and childhood love? [a Kingdom Hearts AU; some of the lines and plot elements used here are taken directly or loosely paraphrased from scenes in the games]

_“As the Keybearer, you know better than to meddle in the affairs of other worlds!”_

Okay, he did know that, but it was his nature to help others. How could that be such a bad thing?

Yunho dropped his bag with a groan, the admonishment of the queen still ringing in his ears. Queen Elsa had made things very clear—he and his Keyblade were not a welcome sight in Arendelle. Anna had seemed like she would let them stay, but the queen was unwavering, although sympathetic with their journey’s purpose, for once upon a time she too had learned a hard lesson of love and sought to make things right.

Being the wielder of the Keyblade was not a rosy walk in the park.

 _The savior of the world. A weapon of mass destruction_. That was the legend surrounding his precious Keyblade—and no destruction of evil intent came from his hands, but that was not how others saw it.

His companions had left him alone at the inn. Julien had ranted about some sea salt ice cream, and of course Siwon tagged along in the event the temperamental young man got himself into trouble. They would depart in the morning for Radiant Garden, so tonight was a “free night,” in Yunho’s words.

His fingers toyed with the long silver chain hanging around his neck, and the tiny charm at the end clinked against the metal. A five pointed star made of a pearlescent mineral, the Wayfinder was a gift from his best friend and childhood crush, Changmin. Crafted on a warm sunny afternoon, it had never left Yunho’s person—not even when everything happened.

“Min,” Yunho said to the ceiling, wishing he were there with him. “Where are you?”

Dozens of memories flashed through his mind, and he flinched. Darkness swallowing the islands. Changmin falling into the depths of the abyss, yearning to help save his world but losing his heart in the process. Only after Yunho had gone on a quest with his new friends to lock the hearts of the world had he and Changmin faced off.

And that Changmin was not _his_.

 

* * *

 

_Power radiated at him from all sides. Yunho sunk onto his knees, his palms slowly sliding across the marble floor in the grand hall. Next to him, he heard Julien and Siwon gasp, and then a chuckle followed their sounds. “Giving up already? Come on, Yunho. I thought you were stronger than that.”_

_This Changmin had yellow eyes and a strange outfit that melded to his body. His smile was malevolent. His words were sharp and that of a madman’s. And he possessed a swagger that the old Changmin would not be caught dead with._

_It wasn’t his best friend. It wasn’t his love._

_“I am strong,” Yunho groaned, trying to get back onto his feet—but an immovable force held him to the ground. “You haven’t been with me on this journey, Changmin. You haven’t…seen the things I’ve seen. It’s not my body or my physical strength that I rely on.”_

_Something icy cold gripped his heart and he winced, choking on his breath. He glanced up through tears to see Changmin’s arm outstretched, gloved hand clenched into a fist. The fingers tightened, and pain rippled through Yunho._

_“This thing? Your weak, pathetic heart? Please. Darkness is all-consuming and powerful. It will destroy your silly heart, but only if you choose the weak light. Choose my path, Yunho. It is the only way.”_

_It took a lot of effort, but Yunho managed to get onto his feet, shaking. He gulped down air, trying to ignore the fiery pain that clenched his heart, and spoke. “No, it’s not. It’s not…the only way. Yes, I’m not as fit or as built as you. But I know my heart is strong. It was enough to get me where I am, and enough to save the other worlds.” He sent a soft smile to his two comrades, who nodded in encouragement. “I’ve had my friends beside me. It’s because of them that I made it here.”_

_Changmin burst into loud laughter that pierced the otherwise silent halls of Hollow Bastion’s castle. He held out his other hand and called forth the Keyblade. “I took it from you…this new power of yours. You say your friends aided you. But what can they do to help your poor heart from being eaten by the darkness?” Then his voice grew excited, barely contained as he approached Yunho. “Think what we could do together if you just accepted the darkness in your heart. We would never be separated again. Don’t you want that?”_

_“More than anything,” Yunho whispered. “You don’t know…how much I want that. I want to stay beside you forever, Changmin.” His fingers curled into his palms, and he stood rigid, grounding his heels and preparing for the worst. His tears flowed freely now. “I love you, but I can’t stand aside and watch you destroy the worlds! So defeat me with my own Keyblade. Strike me down. It doesn’t matter, because as long as my friends remember who I am and what I stand for…and as long as I have them, my heart will always win!”_

_He dropped into a defensive stance, staring Changmin down. “No matter what you do, it’s not going to stop me from loving you. But you chose wrong, Min. I fight for the realm of light and for the hearts of everyone, not just for my own selfish needs.”_

_The pregnant pause after his words seemed to go on and on, endless._

_Bright light shone in Yunho’s hand, and a weight settled in his palm. He didn’t have to look down to know that the Keyblade had heard its true master and returned to him._

_“That’s unfortunate,” Changmin murmured. “I’m sorry, my friend, that your death will have to come at my hand.”_

 

* * *

 

But it hadn’t. Yunho and Changmin clashed together—and the Keybearer came out victorious, at the cost of what little light was left in Changmin’s heart. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it left quite the mark. Changmin had crawled away in defeat, and was shortly possessed by someone who called himself the Seeker of Darkness.

The story was long, complicated, and painful. It all culminated in their finding and closing Kingdom Hearts—with Changmin trapped in the realm of darkness. At the last possible moment, just as the door closed, Yunho received his wish. He gazed upon his best friend’s face one last time and was shocked to see a tearful smile had taken over his expression.

“I’ll come back to you. I promise.”

Laying on his bed at the inn, Yunho replayed those words again and again. The events that transpired then happened when he was an older teenager; now he was in his twenties, and still he had no luck in finding his love. No matter how arrogant and irritating Shim Changmin could get, he always kept his promises. Yunho would hold him to this one in particular, even if it meant he had to seek Changmin out himself.

_Don’t worry, Min. I’m already looking for a way into the realm of darkness. I’m going to find you and bring you home with me. I—what?_

He blinked. Then he blinked again. No, surely not. It was only because he’d been thinking of Changmin. That had to be it…because if not…then…

The image flashed a second time in the wall mirror. Yunho jerked into a sitting position on the bed, holding his breath. He clutched at the blanket beneath him, unable to tear his eyes away even for a moment. The third time it appeared, it stayed—and cracked a sheepish grin.

“Hey, Yunho.”

He was across the room in a split second, sobs wrenching from his chest as his fingers found the smooth surface of the glass, not the soft and warm face he craved. “Changmin,” he croaked, and it all came spilling out. He sobbed harder and pressed his forehead to the mirror, crying. “It’s you. It’s really you.”

“It’s been a couple of years, hasn’t it? But you haven’t changed a bit.” Changmin’s hair was longer, now able to curl behind his ears—and wavy it was, all brown and tousled. There were some scars along his neck, and for some reason he wore a blindfold, a single piece of black silk that stretched over his eyes. He hadn’t aged much, but the toll of everything made him seem older. He looked beyond exhausted and a little on the rough side.

“Oh, I’ve changed,” Yunho trembled, wishing he could forget all the pain and suffering he had seen done at the hands of the Seeker of Darkness—all that had been done indirectly by Changmin. “But you’re here…” Suddenly, he found no strength left in him to stand. _He’s here!_ Changmin let out a worried exclamation as Yunho fell onto his knees, still sobbing. “I looked for you!”

“Yunho, no…please get up…”

_I looked everywhere for you!_

The faintest warmth caused Yunho’s tears to cease for a short time. He hiccupped and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Looking up, he saw that Changmin knelt on the other side of the mirror—or wherever he was—and had pressed his hand against Yunho’s. “You made a valiant effort, too. You have no idea how happy it makes me to know that you weren’t going to give up until you found me.” He paused, face twisting into a grimace. “I didn’t _want_ to be found, Yun.”

“…what?”

“You saw what I did,” Changmin breathed, his eyes wet too. “You saw all the havoc and destruction I wreaked upon the worlds. I nearly destroyed everything. I almost—I almost _killed_ you.” He turned his head away, shame etched all over his face. “What if you found me and hated me? I thought you would. I wouldn’t have blamed you.”

Yunho laughed weakly. “You’re an idiot. How could I ever hate you?”

“I took the Keyblade and almost turned your friends on you. That’s enough to despise anyone, isn’t it?”

“And you’re supposed to be smarter than me!” Yunho shook his head, still chuckling. “You used to take the snacks from my lunches, and the sword out of my toy chest while we were kids. You even stole all my attention and my heart. Why would I get mad at you for the stupid Keyblade?”

Changmin’s eyes bulged. “I _took your_ _heart_?”

“Metaphorically. The darkness never got it, because it never belonged to it.” Yunho placed a hand on his chest, pouring all his love into a single gaze. “I love you. You’ve had my heart for a long time. As long as I remembered how much I loved you, and how I would never let you go, there was nothing you could have done to stop me—because you can’t stop me from loving you.”

His best friend took a shuddering breath, closing his eyes. “You…love me.”

“Don’t sound so stunned, it’s a blow to my feelings.” Yunho ached for his touch. For a hug, for a moment where they could hold hands and forget about the good and the bad, and just bathe in each other’s presence. “Yes, silly. I love you. I always have, and I always will. The darkness can try to separate us, but it never really will.” _And I won’t let it._

“So what you’re saying is…I’m stuck with you forever?” The words were meant to be a fake lament, but there was so much joy laced into them, it would not fool anyone.

Yunho hummed, letting Changmin hang for a bit. “Yeah, I guess so.” They burst into quiet laughter, and it was like they were back on the island, sixteen years old and wanting to explore other worlds.

How long ago that was.

“Why are you blindfolded?” Yunho asked after a comfortable pause. He wanted to see Changmin’s eyes—see if they held as much love for him as he hoped.

Making a strange face, Changmin hedged, “I…don’t want you to see…them. My eyes.”

“Huh? Why not?!”

The corners of his mouth turned down as he said, “They’re…still yellow. I accepted darkness into my heart when we fought at Hollow Bastion. _He_ showed me how to do it, but I didn’t know that it would take over me completely. I’m ashamed, Yunho…of all that I’ve done. I can’t look at myself. The blindfold just makes things easier.” He shrugged. “And it’s turned me into a badass fighter, so I can’t complain.”

There was the Changmin he loved. “And uh…at the risk of seeming too flippant, how’s the realm of darkness suiting ya?”

Changmin bit his lip as he slowly answered, “It’s so lonely here, but I think…I think I’ve been okay because I think of you all the time.” Changmin spread his fingers out, and Yunho wondered if his best friend wanted to feel a touch as much as he did. “My parents are gone. You’re all I have. So I hold onto the thought that I’ll see you again, and really be with you. Not like this poor imitation of a reunion.”

“Say what you will, but this is…enough.”

Changmin cracked another smile. “For now.” Something drew his attention on the side, and he quickly turned his head back to Yunho. “I have to go.”

Panic raced through Yunho, and he shook his head. “No. Not yet. A little longer. Please!”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry about everything. I want to stay and talk to you, but I have to keep moving. The realm of darkness always throws one obstacle after another at me, and if I linger too long, I could put you in danger, too.”

It had barely been five minutes. “Stay with me,” Yunho begged, but Changmin had already risen to his feet again. His hand stayed pressed against the mirror, and he took another deep steadying breath. A tremor shook Yunho to the core when Changmin touched his fingers to his lips and then brushed them against the mirror.

Right where Yunho’s forehead had been before.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Yunho. I’m going to fight the darkness here. And then I’ll figure out how to get back to the realm of light, if only for you.” The damn glass wall separated them as they reached for each other one last time. “I told you I would come back to you. I will. Keep fighting, Yunho. Don’t give up. We’ll be together again.”

“Wait—”

“Goodbye, Yunho.” Tendrils of the darkness curled around him, and he stepped back into shadows.

 _Don’t go!_ “CHANGMIN!” Yunho shouted, but he was gone. Only his teary-eyed reflection stared back at him now. Fury rose in him, and without warning, his arm surged forward. His knuckles broke and shattered the mirror, and he continued to pound away at it until much of the glass was scattered in fine dust on the floor, and blood dripped from his hand.

He panted hard, fixed on the spot where Changmin had stood. _Keep fighting, Yunho._ “I will,” he said aloud. Voice cracking, he added, “And we’re going to be together again.” He knew it now. It wasn’t just his friends that gave him strength.

Changmin’s friendship…Changmin’s _love_ was his weapon, his power.


	5. Wolf, of the Were- Variety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teen Wolf AU. Yunho thinks it's kinda cool and kinda hot that his best friend is a werewolf. Changmin thinks Yunho is out of his freaking mind. And just what the hell is "imprinting," anyway? [#HappyHominDay]

“HOLY SHIT, YOU’RE A WEREWO—”

Changmin slapped his hand over Yunho’s mouth, eyes wide in alarm. He glanced around to make sure no one had spotted him before glaring back at his friend. “Gee, why don’t you just get on the damn intercom and yell it to the entire freaking school while you’re at it?!”

Sensing that his best friend was, for once, legitimately angry, Yunho nodded at an alcove down the hallway and pulled Changmin into the shadows. “How did this happen? Is it a genetic thing or did you get scratched or bit by…?” He trailed off, his mouth opening wide and soundless again. Then he nearly squealed. “Oh my _god_ , the other night—”

“One more outburst from you, Jung, and I swear I will summon the…dog thing within me and eat you.”

“Sorry. I’m sorry! Don’t eat me. But…like…this is unreal!”

Breathing harshly, Changmin swept his hair back from his face, feeling slightly sick again. Would it ever stop? “Tell me about it. You’re not the one morphing into a big humanoid dog thing every night for the past two nights. Thankfully, the full moon is over, but…” _But what if I still feel this way the entire time? What if it’s not over? Am I going to wolf out every month for the rest of my life?_

Yunho hadn’t really paid much attention to his friend’s plight. His mouth curved into a smile and his eyes sparkled with mischief. “Min.”

“What?”

“Dude.” Yunho grasped his collar and tightened his fingers, shaking with excitement. “Do you know what this means? Like, you’re a fucking werewolf. You have…powers…a-and super strength and speed like no one else! You’re gonna be more athletic than ever, and you’re probably immortal or something sweet like that. How cool is this?!” he ended in a tone of voice equivalent to a child discovering that Santa Claus lived next door to him.

Changmin stared at him, dumbfounded. “Yunho. I’m being serious. I’m some sort of crazy abomination that the government probably has a research sector for. I could get hunted or arrested or experimented on because of this. And, oh yeah! Before the other night, I didn’t even consider the fact that werewolves might actually exist!”

His best friend continued to rave. “We’re going to be so freaking popular! You’ll start kicking ass at lacrosse, and well, I’m your super-hot best friend so that scores points for me with everyone, and—”

“ _YUNHO_.” He didn’t mean for it to come out so animalistic, like a real growl. It brought Yunho to a screeching halt, and he staggered back, hitting the wall behind him. Real terror and wariness flashed in his eyes, and Changmin forced himself to take a deep breath and struggle for a lighter tone. “Let’s worry about being popular some other time. I’m more concerned with the fact that I feel like I’m going to barf every couple of minutes, and…” A lightbulb came on in his brain, and he snapped his fingers. “I just remembered! Last night, my mom bugged me about my homework, and I wanted to rip her head off! Do you think it’s a temper thing? Yunho, I can’t just kill everyone that makes me mad! Our classmates would be in mortal danger every single day!”

It took a moment for Yunho to recover, but he did. “Yeah…yeah…” He muttered to himself for a couple seconds, but then his eyes darted up to Changmin’s face, and then down to his chest, before back down to the ground. “So…hey, listen…I wanted to ask you something…”

“Hmmm?” Changmin kept his jaw clenched and mouth shut, afraid he would snarl again.

Yunho studied him with an unfathomable expression before smiling sadly and shaking his head. “Nothing, Min. Nothing. Nothing as usual,” he added under his breath, stepping out of the dark corner and heading towards homeroom, still talking to himself.

Sighing, Changmin watched him walk down the opposite hall with his shoulders slumped forward, thinking about everything that had happened—and about the odd pause from Yunho just now. Speechless was not one of Yunho’s qualities; it was harder to get him to shut up half the time. Somehow, he felt like there was something in that expression of his that he should have caught but didn’t.

He froze midstride, the cogs in his memory whirling fast. _That night…when I got bit…Yunho had been over…and in the kitchen, he was trying to tell me something…he didn’t want to talk about it in front of my mom, and he was so red…he had started to lean in and then…_

No. It couldn’t be. They were friends. Strictly friends. “Strictly friends,” Changmin whispered aloud, feeling confused and disappointed—and unable to figure out why exactly he felt that way.

* * *

 

“JUNG!” the lacrosse coach called for the fifth time, face red with frustration. Yunho cursed under his breath, sent Changmin an apologetic look, and turned toward the rest of the team. “Quick gawking at people and get your ass in position before I make you run laps all practice!”

Changmin bit back a smile and watched as the members of his team huddled together, discussing plans and strategies for the first game of the season. Rather than play and possibly decapitate one of his teammates as he’d been afraid to do all week long, he had wrapped a bandage around a leg and forged a note from his “doctor” about a fake injury received while painting his house. Surprisingly, the coach hadn’t questioned it and let Changmin sit on the bench during practice.

Now he could enjoy the sight of all the guys getting hustled while he sipped a soda and basked in the warm afternoon sun. All his troubles seemed distant.

Well, at least, most of them did.

And it wasn’t the fact that he had a bad temper now and worried for everyone’s safety constantly. Or even the fact that he would wolf out again in three weeks. Nope, not that either. Yunho’s sudden anxiety about everything and the awkward long looks that Changmin got from him sometimes bothered him.

The looks came during European History, since Yunho sat behind him, and Changmin could feel him staring. Once, he had playfully punched Yunho in the shoulder, and instead of doing a punch-back, as he normally would, his friend ignored it and kept his focus on their experiment. Just yesterday, he’d caught his best friend staring at him with a slightly gaping mouth when he changed afterschool; at first, Changmin thought it was due to the now faded scar from the dog bite. But once he had time to think it over…

Well, he wasn’t so sure.

_Yunho’s a great guy_ , he thought before he could stop himself. _He’s the best friend I’ve ever had since kindergarten._ Now there was a memory. Poor little Jung’s pants had fallen while they stood in the lunch line, and Changmin later got sent home for punching a bully in the face as he laughed and recounted the tale to everyone in their art class.

They would always be friends. But as Changmin watched the team break from huddle and move into starting positions, he wondered if maybe Yunho’s feelings had changed and “more than friends” was a better way to describe what he wanted.

The thought made Changmin’s smile wane. _And is that what I want, though?_ Truthfully, he didn’t know. He wanted to always be there for Yunho, and with him. But was it romantic? Sure, his best friend was a good-looking guy; there wasn’t a girl in school who hadn’t imagined herself in love with him once or twice. Even some of the boys did double takes at him in the hallways.

_I’ll ask him about it soon._ He heard the coach yelling at him to make himself useful and gather up the equipment. As he did, he started to go over what he would say. _No putting it off for too long, Changmin. Even with this whole werewolf thing, I gotta know where we stand._

* * *

 

“Hold your breath.”

“Yes, because that always works.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to be helpful here. I could let you loose on the whole freaking team. It would mean we’d get to be the two star…players…” Yunho trailed off at Changmin’s murderous look. “Can’t a guy even joke around with you anymore?”

Changmin rolled his eyes. “You would rather me kill our friends?” It was enough to make Yunho flinch and that was all he needed. Sighing, he gripped the edge of the library study table and closed his eyes, willing himself to take deep breaths. “Sometimes, if I imagine I’m anywhere else, like a happy place, it works for a second. And then I start seeing red, and I feel like I’m about to break apart.”

Yunho frowned at him, playing with his bottle cap. “You think we should put out a call of some sort for other wolfies in the area? Have you howl on top of that one hill in the park—I’m kidding, Shim, don’t glare at me like that. But really, though. Maybe we can see if there’s another person wolfing out around the area. I mean, the dog that bit you—or at least you said it was a dog—has to be another…you know.”

“Just say it.”

“Wuh…whoo…” Yunho made a funny face, trying to find a different word. “They have to have a furry problem, too…right?”

“Furry problem,” Changmin echoed in a deadpan voice. Two cheerleaders passing them by gave him a sideways glance before bursting into giggles. “How about no? And keep your voice down,” he added, staring hard at the girls’ receding backs. “If you don’t talk about this shit in a whisper, the entire school will know that I’m a…that I’m…”

“Having a furry—”

“SHUT IT.”

“All right, all right! I won’t mention how you are a wolf…of the were- variety.” Yunho held up his hands in surrender, still grinning. It slid off his face after a moment, and he went stiff in his chair, looking everywhere but at his best friend. “So…I wanted to ask you something…”

Still a bit annoyed at the little progress they’d made with the discussion, Changmin made a grunt, acknowledging that he’d heard.

“So…like…you know…I mean, of course you know, everyone knows, this isn’t exactly a big school, but there’s a field trip for spring break…the entire junior class is going up to the mountains, to a ski resort, and…well, you know, when you go on the ski lift, you kinda gotta have a partner, and I don’t want to be alone because no one gets along with me because of the ADHD thing, and I have to have a roommate, and if I don’t get anyone, I could wind up with someone like Heechul and just…no,” he stammered, pulling at his collar.

Changmin snorted and rolled his eyes. “Sometime today, Jung.”

“Well…” He coughed and spluttered and made grotesque noise. “You wanna…I mean, do you wanna—?”

“HEY, SHIM!” Another group of girls, this time members of the dance squad, passed their table; their colonel had been the one to call out. She smiled over at him, hoping to catch his eye and failing. “I was just in the front office. That new secretary said your ride’s here to pick you up, and that if anyone sees you to tell you. He’s been waiting out front a while.”

That silenced Yunho for all of a second before starting a whole new round of stammering. “Wh-what?!” he cried out at the same time that Changmin rose to his feet, on edge. “It’s a guy? But…like…he doesn’t have a dad! Or any relative of the male persuasion in the whole freaking state!”

_Don’t sound so jealous, dude._

The girl shrugged. “Who knows who he is? He just told her that he’s here for you.”

One of her friends let out a shrill giggle. “If he were here for me, I definitely wouldn’t deny him. I’d let him take me home any day,” she stressed, leading the others to giggle with her.

Changmin looked down at Yunho, who now resembled a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing without sound. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he mumbled before slinging his bag over his shoulder and stalking out of the library. It was probably just the veterinarian that he sometimes worked for. Maybe Dr. Song had finally taken pity on Changmin and was now offering a ride in exchange for more service—and he supposed the vet was a pretty attractive guy, as lots of women tended to stop by for no reason whatsoever. Most of them didn’t even have pets.

When he shoved open the doors to the front steps of the school, however, he was met with a shock. A jean-clad shock in a fitted black tee that leaned against a gleaming black classic Camaro, stood even taller than the vet, with much broader shoulders, a trim build, and the darkest, most penetrating eyes he had ever seen on a human.

But he knew this man. Everyone in town knew him and what had happened to his family in the infamous fire—everyone except for the new secretary.

Gao Yi Xiang.

Right then, the stupidest sentence ever uttered fell from Changmin’s mouth. “You’re not permitted to take me from school.”

The older man’s eyebrows rose, and a small smile formed on his ruggedly handsome face. “True,” he agreed, but he jerked his head to the side. “However, I think given the current situation, taking you out of this environment is the best option we have. Get in the car.”

“Uh, that…you…come again?” Okay, was he distracted because weird, hot outcast guy was there to get him from school, or was he distracted because this outcast guy was pretty freaking hot?

“Get in the car, Shim Changmin.”

“Make me.”

He tilted his head, looking at Changmin curiously. “What if I said you aren’t alone in what’s happening to you? That there are more of…us?”

_Us? Us? Does he mean…werewolves?_ _How does he even know?!_ Changmin swallowed hard. “I’m listening.”

“Good choice. You talk, I drive. We discuss what’s been going on with you, I fill in the blanks, and then I take you home to your mother and you pretend we never met. It’s pretty simple.” In one fluid movement, he opened the passenger door and waved his expected passenger in. “Now get in.”

“You know, this does count as coercion-borderline-kidnapping?” Changmin complained as he tossed his school bag into the back of the car before sliding in. How exactly did a single guy have such a clean vehicle? _The mysteries of one Gao Yi Xiang…_

Yi Xiang laughed. “Did you hear a threat come out of me? I asked, and you joined me. That’s not coercion. That’s coming along of your own free will.” He slammed the car door, but as he started to walk around the front of the car, he stopped and turned towards the school. Another low chuckle escaped him. “My, oh my.”

“What now?” More than exasperated, Changmin leaned forward, trying to see around him.

On the topmost step stood Yunho, apple halfway to his mouth. He had dropped his bag in obvious surprise at seeing Changmin get into a car with a man that may as well be a stranger. His eyes flickered from Yi Xiang to Yunho and back. Then his face closed off completely, and he walked back through the school doors, his posture very stiff.

“Didn’t tell me you already did that,” Yi Xiang muttered lowly, still staring after his best friend.

“I…what?” Was Yunho angry with him? Did he think he was ditching their time together for this…guy?

“That you had imprinted on someone.” Yi Xiang shook his head. “I knew you couldn’t be left alone for so long. That was my first and only mistake. ”

_Imprint? What the hell does that mean?_ “Look, are we going to do this thing or not? I’ve already pissed off Yunho, and my mother is going to kill me when she sees that _you_ of all people gave me a ride home. Probably think I was corrupted in the fifteen minute drive home.”

A few seconds went by until Yi Xiang turned back to the car at last. He settled himself behind the steering wheel, his gaze burning a hole into the side of Changmin’s head. “There’s a lot to know, and more than I can really say. You’ll find out some things on your own, but there’s shit I have to cover with you if you’re going to attempt to be around people. There’s the strength, the stealth, the curse of the moon, the hunger, the anger issues…” He started the engine; it roared to life and idled as he leaned back, still staring at the teenage boy. “

“Yeah, okay. Great.” Changmin waved his hands in front of him, nearly hitting the dashboard by accident. “So…talk, dude. Or let me go fix things with my best friend and forget you even exist.”

Yi Xiang snorted. “Best friend, huh? Somehow I doubt that’s all it is, especially if you imprinted.”

“Just what the hell are you talking about? Imprint, some curse, hunger—I mean, it all sounds like some bad horror movie!” But he could not deny the fact that he wanted to know more about what he now was and what it all meant. “So spill it or leave me alone.”

“All right, lupine. Buckle in.” Changmin hated how freaking cool he looked as he slipped on a pair of dark Ray Bans and turned the Camaro away from the curb. As Yi Xiang drove down the winding school exit, Changmin leaned back in his seat and sighed. What the hell was he going to tell Yunho? His mom?

_I am fucked with a capital F._

* * *

 

Yunho had never been this anxious in his life. Kind Mrs. Shim had let him into Changmin’s room without another thought, bringing him something to eat while he waited for his friend to get home. She was suspicious of the fact that one half of their duo was there (and it wasn’t her son) but asked no questions. If he kept bouncing, he might just break the bottom half of Changmin’s bed.

Why? What did Gao Yi Xiang want with Changmin? The guy was bad news. Hot, yes. But dangerous guys were always hot—and he reeked of danger. Was Changmin attracted to men like that? _Oh, god. I don’t stand a chance then._ No. No, he could be dangerous! Maybe.

Probably not.

_So I’m a little jealous. Whatever. It’s not like Changmin gives a shit._ That depressed him. His little crush on Shim Changmin had become something serious in the last couple of years, but…acting on his feelings had proved to be difficult. What if Changmin didn’t see him like that? Or wouldn’t?

“Home,” came the weary voice of his best friend from downstairs. Mrs. Shim said something to him in return, and their voices were muffled through the floor. _Breathe, Yunho. Fucking breathe._ He gripped the sheets tight and counted his breaths; that helped nothing.

The door swung open, and Changmin stopped short of walking in. He looked beaten down and tired, but his eyes widened when he saw Yunho sitting on his bed. “Oh. Hi.”

“So…” What was there to say? “Gao Yi Xiang. Finally found your taste in men, and it’s in bad boys. I should have seen it coming, honestly.”

Changmin closed his eyes. “Don’t look so far into it, please. And you know I’m going to tell you all we talked about anyway, so don’t start the whole possessive peacock thing.”

“WOW. A peacock? Really?” He felt possessive, though; that wasn’t a lie.

“Shut up for just one second, okay? Yi Xiang explained a lot to me, and I’m still trying to absorb it all.” Yunho pursed his lips and waited until Changmin had folded his long legs on top of the comforter. They exchanged a long glance before he finally spoke up. “You were right. There are more werewolves. Or well, there’s more than just me. Yi Xiang’s one. Then there’s the alpha who bit me.”

“What?!” Yunho sat up straight, startled. “Alpha? So the pack dynamic that’s actually a load of bullshit in real life applies to you guys for real?”

“…uh, yeah.” Changmin rubbed his temples, groaning. “All of Yi Xiang’s family were once werewolves, too. When the fire broke out, all of them burned to death. He’s convinced it was someone who knew about their existence and decided to take matters into their own hands. That’s why he stressed the secrecy shit to me. ‘Do not tell anyone, Shim. Not even your mom, Shim. I mean it, Shim.’ Like, chill. No one would believe me, anyway. I’d be committed before they believed me.”

Yunho nodded. “Lucky you got me, then.”

Changmin grimaced. “There are a couple of other things the legends don’t mention.” Why wouldn’t he hold Yunho’s gaze longer than was polite? “I can wolf out whenever I want, so if I don’t control it, well…”

“The whole town could find out.”

“At the very least. He doesn’t know if there are hunters in the area, but it’s only safe to assume there are.”

“I wonder why they killed his family. It’s not like we’ve ever had a serious animal attack.” _And I wonder why the hell you won’t look at me for more than five seconds._

Silence fell between them. A loud horn honked outside and children’s delighted screams could be heard from the street. Changmin scratched behind his ear and let out a shaky breath. “And…he mentioned…”

“What? I swear if you say I gotta walk you once a week—”

“Ever heard of imprinting?” Changmin blurted out only for his cheeks to flush pink.

Yunho racked his brains. The term was familiar, but its definition escaped him. “Pretty sure I ran across it during my super-intense wolf research the other day. I can’t remember what it was, though. Did Yi Xiang say it was like a disease or an ability of yours? What does it do?”

And Changmin actually leaned forward, hands under his legs, and kissed the side of Yunho’s neck, right above the collar of his shirt. Yunho couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. Hell, he didn’t even know if he was dreaming or not. _Warm…mouth…on…skin…_

“Holy fuck,” Yunho swore and made to hold Changmin against his body, but his best friend backed off quickly, still red as a tomato. “You—that—is that what—I can’t—”

“Imprinting is something that has been part of the werewolf legends for so long, and they still can’t really explain it,” Changmin said slowly, watching Yunho bring a hand up to the spot on his neck. “It’s how…shit. It’s how they find…their, um…their…”

_He’s about to say the word “mates” and I don’t think I can handle that._

Yunho’s eyes bulged, and he nearly fell backwards off the bed. “Are you in love with me?!”

“I don’t know!” Changmin wailed. What a pair they were. One highly confused and a bit turned on; the other about to throw a fit on par with a toddler’s. “You’re my best friend, and I don’t want that to change, but…I don’t know! Ever since this stupid werewolf shit started happening, I keep thinking about you, and like…maybe it was there before, maybe I felt something for you and it just got stronger!”

Anywhere else, it would have been a strange—and intense—conversation to have. With them, it was weird, of course. But werewolves were real, Gao Yi Xiang wasn’t some backwoods serial killer like they all thought, and _Shim Changmin had imprinted on his best friend._

Yunho carefully arranged his next words. “Where do we go from here, Changmin? I like you, you like me, and we’re one happy couple?” Changmin jerked his head up, and Yunho found himself making a derisive noise. “Don’t even, Shim. You know how I feel about you. It’s been this way since we started high school. Say what you want, but it’s always been you.”

“Always?”

“Yeah. No one else could drive me crazy and still make me love them like you do.” His voice was small now. Confessing wasn’t as intimidating as he thought it would be. Then again, the wolf thing with his friend trumped a lot of stuff lately.

Changmin wrung his hands on his lap. “I don’t know what to do, Yunho. It’s all so much to take in. I don’t want to lose control, I don’t want to be a werewolf, and…” His words came out strangled. “I don’t want to lose my best friend because of some stupid animal instinct. It’s unfair! I thought I was finally coming to terms with something that felt like romantic love, and this comes along and fucks it right up! And I still have so many questions that Yi Xiang never answered. What if people find out about me? What if there are hunters out there? What if I _hurt_ someone? What if I lose myself, Min?”

“Hey.” Yunho reached forward and squeezed their hands together. “No matter what, you still got me.”

It took Changmin a second, but he finally squeezed back. “I got you. I think that’s enough for now.” They didn’t say anything else for a while after. They just loosely held hands on the bed and looked at each other, wishing they could see the future, uncertain as it was—and whether they’d be together in it.


	6. Ashamed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He believes himself a monster yet he is still loved.

Refusing to suck in even the tiniest of breaths, he crawled to the corner and wrapped his arms tightly around his knees. Harsh whispers rang out from him, though he no longer recognized his own voice. Instinct flooded him, and his vision turned a hazy red. The sweetest, most mouthwatering scent filled him and he prayed that he could shut off his senses in time. Fuck, he hated when the Thirst overtook him like this. Why did he let it get so out of hand again?

But he knew why. Of course he did. “Why” was the weekends spent lounging in bed naked, tracing patterns on golden skin. “Why” was the little smile he received in private and in public, just because. “Why” watched him with pure love and concern in his warm brown eyes, half-rising from his seat at the ornate dining table.

“Changmin…”

_he is my greatest temptation and it hurts to be around him it’s pure torture_

“Stay away from me.” No, no, no. Growling at him by accident was one thing. Snarling like that…

Yunho’s frown only curved downward as he slowly approached the cowering creature Changmin had become. “Let me help you…however I can…please?”

“No.” God, he was so ashamed. The date had been going so well, too. Something simple—a dinner and catching up on their favorite shows. Truthfully, it felt like an odd thing to do in such a vast, classic-style manor house with panels and doorways carved a century ago. Yunho always insisted they spend time in Changmin’s cozy apartment as he hated bringing people over to his childhood home. His family’s old wealth and prestige could not be helped. They were laughing and joking not two minutes earlier.

Then Yunho’s knife slipped, a tiny drop of blood dotted his lap, and Changmin had thrown himself back from the table, smashing porcelain and crystal everywhere as he did what he could to put distance between his sudden urge to feed and Yunho.

_just a little bit just take a little bit no no shut up shut up just a tiny drop no_

“You can control it. You’re strong. You’re so strong, Changmin. I’m not afraid of you. I told you that.” It was the same argument, every time Changmin had to turn away in shame, or else had to outright leave because he was a disgusting piece of filth that the world didn’t want anymore. And the way Yunho looked at him now, with such a plea in his eyes…

Changmin clenched his teeth. Digging his nails into the carpet, he let out as little of breaths as he could, enough to speak but barely audible. “I have to go.”

“Stop running.” Yunho stood too close. “Learn to ignore it. You have before. You can do it now.”

_you fool you stupid handsome fool it’s your blood it’s so warm and filling I’ve tasted it and_

“If not, then we’re going to deal with the addiction another way.” Yunho squared his shoulders and then squeezed his finger, and more blood oozed out. Had his heart been beating, Changmin surely would have died of a heart attack. He stared in amazement as Yunho held out his hand. “Come on. I’m giving you permission. You’re going to learn to control it one way or another. If this is how it’s got to happen, then so be it.”

_so nonchalant about such a gruesome, disgusting act_

“Twist your face like that any longer, and it’ll stay that way.” Much too close, much too close. Kneeling on the carpet, his boyfriend reached out with his other hand and brushed sweaty hair back from his face. “Enough’s enough. Come here.”

How could he resist? He had no strength in him. He never really did. He was a coward and a monster, and this idiot boy loved him anyway. Yunho wanted to be around him out of love and that would never cease to be a wonder in itself. But he tried to protest again. “Please…don’t…”

_I love him I hate myself oh please come no closer I can’t I can’t I can’t_

That damned bloody finger hovered dangerously in front of his face. He could hear his own resolve snapping into a million fragments. “Changmin-ah,” Yunho said huskily, his eyes half-open as he leaned forward. “I am not afraid of you. I will never be afraid of you. And I want to prove it. I know you. I’ve known you for so long now, even though you say I never really knew you at all. You are strong and a good person. I know you can stop yourself before you take too much.

“So drink.”

Their mouths crashed together first, Changmin’s breath ragged as he let go of his fears for just a few moments. Yunho’s fingers threaded themselves into those dark wavy curls he had come to adore and pulled that still snarling face closer. There was some desperation and just a sliver of joy, but the raw hunger from Changmin overpowered anything else. “Yes,” he rasped as Yunho pulled back, gasping for breath as he held up his hand, his finger somehow still dripping.

_yes yes yes yes yes yes god yes_

Baring his fangs, Changmin curled his tongue around the cut tip and lick it dry before his lips slid down to Yunho’s wrist. His human boyfriend watched, entranced by how gentle and delicate he was acting. “You’re not a monster,” he whispered. “You’re just you.”

Changmin’s eyes flickered up to him just as the tips of his teeth pierced the skin at his wrist. “If you’re going to make noise,” he started, and hearing the amusement back in his voice thrilled Yunho to the core, “I recommend moaning or something sexier than reassurance at the moment.” And then he bit down, eliciting another gasp followed by those sounds he had hoped to hear.

_oh dear boy you are wrong you are so very wrong but I want to be good for you_

“Ah…it feels so different…I had forgotten…” Then it was nothing more than unintelligible words and encouraging murmurs from Yunho as they sat there, hunched together, partaking in something surely sinister but intimate all the same.


End file.
